Pubdate: Tue, 28 Nov 2000 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2000 The New York Times Company Contact: 229 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036 Fax: (212) 556-3622 Website: http://www.nytimes.com/ Forum: http://forums.nytimes.com/comment/ Author: James Barron with Bill Carter PUBLIC LIVES: ARREST CLOUDS SITCOM'S PLOT The television writer and producer David E. Kelley fills his lawyer shows ("Ally McBeal" on Fox and "The Practice" on ABC) with equal parts tension, humor and pathos. But there was an off-camera twist this week that he might find too painful to use for a ripped-from-the- headlines episode. The actor Robert Downey Jr., who signed on to play a funny but sad lawyer on "Ally McBeal" this season, was arrested over the weekend on drug charges. The police in Palm Springs, Calif., said that they found Mr. Downey — and some cocaine and methamphetamines — in a hotel room at a resort. The Associated Press reported that he was released on Sunday on $15,000 bail. He is scheduled to appear in court by the end of the year. Mr. Kelley had built the season on "Ally McBeal" around Mr. Downey's guest-starring role. Mr. Downey had completed work on eight episodes before the arrest, but was scheduled to appear in at least two more, one of which is being shot in Los Angeles this week. Neither Mr. Kelley's office nor the Fox network would comment yesterday on the arrest or on what it might mean for Mr. Downey's involvement in the show. Mr. Downey joined the cast in August, shortly after he was released from prison after serving one year on drug charges. Mr. Kelley, who jumped at the chance to hire Mr. Downey once he was out of prison, rewrote several episodes to make room for him. Last night's episode was the fourth featuring Mr. Downey and included him singing Joni Mitchell's Christmas song "The River." - --- MAP posted-by: Thunder